Stargazing in Hawaii

Just in case you needed more reasons to go to Hawaii (tropical island paradise, surfing, shave ice…), guess what? It's a great place to learn more about astronomy, too. Some of the most advanced work in astrophysics is happening there right now. Get up close and personal on our next Hawaii Astronomy tour.

Still trying to justify taking off for the tropics? Here's four more reasons to travel to Hawaii with us this year.

• How about that newly discovered super-Earth? Read more about it from Smithsonian Journeys Study Leader, David Aguilar, who also heads up public affairs at the Smithsonian-Harvard Center for Astrophysics.


• Ever wondered what a Submillimeter Array is, what it does, and how it's used? We've got one to show you.


• If that's too futuristic for you, we'll also teach you traditional Polynesian methods of navigation by the stars.


• And if all that doesn't have your bags packed yet, you can always join the search for the real Pandora.